1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to public area seating systems, and in particular, but not by way of limitation, to public seating systems having seats and backs that are modular in appearance, dimensions, and construction.
2. Background of the Invention
There is a substantial amount of public area seating that, through design, manufacturing, or installation shortcomings, has failed to fully satisfy the needs of the people that use such public area seating.
The prior art contains numerous examples of public seating chairs and benches for airports, train stations, and the like in various configurations and designs. These chairs typically have one or more seats linearly attached in a row to a supporting frame, a backrest attached to each seat, and a number of legs attached to the supporting frame.
However, the devices disclosed by the prior art had numerous disadvantages. Specifically, most, if not all of these public seating chairs use a seat component that has dimensions different from than the back component thereby requiring two separate components for manufacture, storage, shipping, assembly, and replacement/repair of the public seating system. This problem was addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,226,071 issued to C. Eames et al (1961) which disclosed seating having replaceable modular seats and backs that were contoured and constructed using a padded material for individual comfort. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,975 issued to Muller (1997) discloses a seating system with a horizontal bar having modular seat and back portions attached thereto. U.S. Pat. No. 6,491,345 issued to Shepard discloses a seat having interchangeable inserts that can be used as a seat or a back for the seating system.
The present invention contemplates a further improvement to the prior art in that the modular seats and backs are interchangeable (having the same dimensions), easily replaceable to facilitate maintenance and repair, and reversible to permit the user to simply flip the seat or back over when scratched or soiled, thereby extending the usable life of the component.
While the foregoing prior art disclosures addressed the problem of differing seat and back construction, there remained other problems associated with most public seating systems. For example, most public seating disclosed by the prior art contemplates the use of cantilevered seating whereby the rear of the seat is attached to a horizontal bar and extends forward at a right angle to that support bar. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,225,071 issued to C. Eames et al. (1965); U.S. Pat. No. 3,261,640 issued to Straits (1966); U.S. Pat. No. 3,568,967 issued to Furtak (1971); U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,975 issued to Muller (1997); U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,417 issued to Wang (1999); U.S. Pat. No. 6,746,086 issued to Foster5 (2004); and U.S. Pat. No. 7,845,725 issued to Sawhney (2010) all disclose or contemplate cantilevered seating. Similarly, U.S. Patent Applications 2007/0128407 filed by Kerr; 2012/0299348 disclosed by Kusch et al; and Chinese Patent Number CN202664848 also disclose or contemplate the use of cantilevered seating. U.S. Pat. No. 6,786,548 addressed this problem to a limited extent by placing a single seat on a tubular frame which reduced the amount of the seat overhanging or cantilevered over the support structure.
While the use of cantilevered seating offers many economic advantages, it requires the use of strong, rigid, and often bulky structural components to accommodate the transfer of stress to the point of attachment. Sitting on the edge of a cantilevered seat places undue stress on its outermost extremity which often leads to structural failure; it also places undue strain on the structural support components which causes them to loosen or ultimately fail as well. Finally, sitting on the edge of a cantilevered seat can cause it to tip over and possibly injure the user. The present invention addresses these limitations by using an inverted starfish-shaped seat support structure that more evenly distributes the stress imparted onto the seat by the weight of the user.
The prior art contains numerous examples of public seats that have been designed to provide a more comfortable seating option than that afforded by the original flat, wooden bench or church pew. Accordingly, hundreds of different design, shape, and padding options populate the prior art disclosures. U.S Design Pat. No. D609,491 issued to Lievore (2010) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,261,640 disclose a sculpted bench seat that has curves to more comfortably encompass the users' hips and back; U.S. Pat. No. 3,226,071 issued to C. Eames et al. (1961) discloses a padded seat that would provide a softer, more comfortable seating surface to the user. U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,949 issued to Benoit (1978); U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,975 issued to Muller (1997); and U.S. Pat. No. 8,240,771 issued to Diffrient disclose seating systems using a strong and durable cloth-mesh-type of material stretched over the support frames as the seats and backs of the devices disclosed therein.
While these solutions, as well as many others disclosed by the prior art certainly provide the user with a seating surface that is more comfortable than the tradition bench or church pew, they are not without limitations either. Most if not all of these devices are bulky and/or cumbersome in shape and thus difficult to transport and store. Many are made of rigid inflexible material which will not permit the seat or back to move with the user; while the shape of the seat or seat back may conform to the user's body more than the flat bench or church pew, the seat still cuts off the user's circulation forcing the user to continually shift his/her position in the seat to remain comfortable. Further, these materials do not allow for any air circulation between the user and the seat or seat back thereby causing the user to perspire from the skin surfaces in contact with the seat or seat back. Many that use flexible materials distend to the point where the user's skin extrudes through the seat materials or openings which, again, cuts off the user's circulation.
The present invention addresses these issues with a totally flat web-design seat/seat back. Since it is flat, it can be easily stored and transported because it takes up a minimal amount of storage room. Because of its composition it is flexible and moves with the movements of the user. Because of its web-mesh design, it “breathes” permitting some air circulation around the seat and the seat back. Finally, the web design transfers the weight of the user symmetrically from the point of contact to the points where the seat is anchored to the seat support structure. Transferring the weight in this manner significantly reduces the likelihood of cutting off the user's blood circulation while sitting on the present invention.